FROM: Media Rights Capital (MRC)
Contact: Rubenstein Communications, Inc.
Susie Arons – 212.843.8033 or sarons@rubenstein.com

Tom Keaney – 212.843.8088 or tkeaney@rubenstein.com

MRC TV STUDIO ANNOUNCES FULL LINE-UP OF TELEVISION PROJECTS FOR MAJOR BROADCAST AND CABLE NETWORKS

Highlights include scripted comedy, drama and animated series for ABC, NBC, Fox, HBO Comedy Central and Lifetime

Classic game show revival to be carried by MTV, VH-1, and CMT

New York, NY (February 8, 2008)– Media Rights Capital MRC, the independent film, television and digital studio, today announced a broad line-up of television productions to be distributed across broadcast networks and major cable outlets. The spectrum of programming includes scripted comedies and dramas, original animated series, and a newly conceived, classic game show.

Similar to the production financing for its film and digital content, MRC’s television production deals consist of partnerships with top creative talent, including Mike Judge, John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky; ENTOURAGE executive producer Steve Levinson; SOPRANOS writers Diane Frolov and Andy Schneider; award-winning ad exec turned TV creator Steve Dildarian; and UK-based Hat Trick Productions.

“This complement of productions is a reflection of MRC’s commitment to independent, creator-driven partnerships,” said Keith Samples, MRC’s President of Television. “These are great shows created by people we are excited to be partnered with.”

MRC television studio’s major broadcast network productions include six series that have been sold to three major broadcast networks – FOX, ABC, and NBC:

• ABC has purchased a 13-episode order of MRC television studio’s THE GOODE FAMILY, a primetime animated series, created by comedy trio Mike Judge, John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky and executive produced by Michael Rotenberg and Tom Lassally at 3Arts.
• DNA, a one-hour drama from SOPRANOS creatives Andy Schneider and Diane Frolov, in partnership with Hat Trick, has been sold to the FOX Broadcasting Company. MRC also has partnered with Hat Trick on a U.S. version of the hit British sitcom OUTNUMBERED. The show will be written for American television by veteran comedy writer Larry Levin.
• Two scripted half hour programs, LOADED and PEDRO, both executive produced by Steve Levinson have also been sold to FOX. LOADED follows the lives of four young, long-time friends who suddenly become rich beyond their wildest dreams when they sell the company they have built together. PEDRO, inspired by a Spanish-language television novella, follows the life of a naive young immigrant with a heart of gold.
• NBC has acquired a yet-to-be-titled half-hour comedy series by actor Dave Koechner and writer Eric Zickland.
• MRC has entered into a co-production with ABC Studios for the scripted comedy HOW NOT TO LIVE YOUR LIFE, which will makes its debut on ABC later this year.

Among cable offerings, MRC television studio announced the following:

• Under a unique cross-network arrangement between MRC and MTV Networks, MRC is producing 19 original episodes of the classic music-themed game show NAME THAT TUNE. MTV, VH-1 and CMT will air 18 episodes – six on each network – and the series finale 19th episode, featuring the winners from each of the individual networks, will air across all three outlets.
• A new animated comedy, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF TIM, will premiere in June on HBO. The 10-episode series, created by multiple Clio Award winning ad exec Steve Dilderian, follows the offbeat life of a single 20-something guy living and working in New York. MRC will produce the program as well as distribute internationally.
• KROD MANDOON, a scripted action comedy for Comedy Central, has received a six-episode order for late fall. The show is a Medieval-period workplace comedy centered on a misfit band on resistance fighters trying to save the Kingdom. It was created by Peter Knight who will executive produce.

Finally, MRC has also entered into an agreement with Lifetime Television to produce three comedy pilots for the network. Under the agreement, at least one of the three will be ordered to series for a launch this fall.

“We are extremely proud, not only of the breadth and quality of MRC’s first television slate, but also by the presence of some of the biggest and most innovative networks among the purchasers of our programming,” said Modi Wiczyk and Asif Satchu, co-CEOs of MRC. “We see this slate, with each offering a unique pairing of top creative talent and strategic distribution, as an apt reflection of the philosophy we have employed in film and digital content. We look forward to generating more talent partnerships for independent television content and to expanding our relationships with an ever-changing distribution network.”

ABOUT MEDIA RIGHTS CAPITAL (MRC):

MRC is a leading independent film, television and digital studio. The company specializes in the creation of premium content, custom building distribution for each of its projects and partnering directly with leading creative talent. 2008 film projects include “Shorts,” written and directed by Robert Rodriguez; “This Side of the Truth,” co-written, directed by, and starring Ricky Gervais; “The Box,” written and directed by Richard Kelly and starring Cameron Diaz; “Linha de Passe,” written and directed by Walter Salles; “Foxcatcher,” written and directed by Bennett Miller; “Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho” and new films by Sacha Baron Cohen and Todd Field.

Media Rights Capital (MRC) Additional Updates:

Ad agency parent WPP Group has acquired a 6.8 percent stake in content-financing and creation company Media Rights Capital, reports AdAge. MRC connects those who have the desire to create content with those who have the checkbooks to finance the creation and distribution of that content.

Former Rysher Entertainment founder Keith Samples has joined Media Rights Capital (MRC) fulltime to spearhead the finance firm’s investments in television. Samples left the syndication business a decade ago after the success of Saved by the Bell to pursue a directing and writing career.

The eight pics span the comedy, drama, family and horror genres, and MRC partners Modi Wiczyk and Asif Satchu are betting big that distributors will place a premium on high-quality fare to fill holes in their 2008 and 2009 slates.

The Writers Guild of America, saying each new deal helps “divide the conglomerates,” has reached yet another interim agreement with a producer, the latest being with Media Rights Capital, the independent film, TV and digital studio.

The MRC deal is similar to the three previously announced interim contracts in giving writers a minimum for original content made for the Internet, one of MRC’s main aims in several deals. MRC and Google made a deal in August to distribute exclusive original digital content from “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane online.